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Why is resource trade & fuel in state's balance sheet

Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 4:41 pm
by shi4stone
If resource mined belongs to the private sector, why should the resource trade & fueling come under the state's balance sheet? shouldn't that be under the private sector balance sheet?

Unless the state owns the resource, but then in that case why state have to pay for the resource when building ship? and why not private pay the state for building mining stations using the resources? (i know private pay the state for building ship but i understand that is not for the resource cost but the right to use of the shipyard, which is state owned).

Asked similar question on steam forum but no consensus or clear answers there, so hopefully getting some more insight here!

Not really affecting the gameplay as such but it does bug the hell out of me and dampens the immerision wihtout a full understanding of the economy system.

Re: Why is resource trade & fuel in state's balance sheet

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 3:29 pm
by deMangler
shi4stone wrote: Wed Mar 23, 2022 4:41 pm If resource mined belongs to the private sector, why should the resource trade & fueling come under the state's balance sheet? shouldn't that be under the private sector balance sheet?

Unless the state owns the resource, but then in that case why state have to pay for the resource when building ship? and why not private pay the state for building mining stations using the resources? (i know private pay the state for building ship but i understand that is not for the resource cost but the right to use of the shipyard, which is state owned).

Asked similar question on steam forum but no consensus or clear answers there, so hopefully getting some more insight here!

Not really affecting the gameplay as such but it does bug the hell out of me and dampens the immerision wihtout a full understanding of the economy system.
I read that steam thread, and I get that, specifically, who owns what and when is not clear although there is a lot of clarification.

Here is my take on not at all clarifying it.
It seems like resources are in the hands of the private economy until they are actually turned into military ships, or stored in state facilities, at which point they are in the hands of the state. Somebody probably owns them.
Also, resources are in the hands of the private economy until they are actually turned into civilian ships, at which point they are in the hands of the private economy. But the state is paid a licence or something. Here money goes to the state from the private economy. I don't know if the resources are paid for by anyone here. Not sure. Somebody probably owns them.

When the state builds something some money just goes to a sink, and the resources are sourced from state holdings that are sourced from the private sector mining. I don't know if the resources are paid for by anyone here. Not sure.

Fuel is in the hands of the private economy, until it is stored in a state facility, but owned by the state until it is bought from them by the private economy or other empires....

All of this protects and provides for the existence of people who are prosperous and pay money to the state, through taxes. I am not going into this because it is unrelated to who owns the resourses apart from how it might provide some clues due to who gets to buy and sell them. Also it actually makes some sense.

Some resources are clearly owned when they are bought and sold though.

The whole private economy, and the state, is owned by a secret organisation run by dolphins and the descendents of ancient families and exists for the purposes of perpetuating confusion about the nature of ownership and power and authority and fish.

Seems pretty realistic to me.

Re: Why is resource trade & fuel in state's balance sheet

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 7:20 pm
by shi4stone
Thank you for the disclarification! :D
But now i am wondering why there is no race based on dolphine!

Re: Why is resource trade & fuel in state's balance sheet

Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 12:44 am
by baldamundo
shi4stone wrote: Wed Mar 23, 2022 4:41 pm If resource mined belongs to the private sector, why should the resource trade & fueling come under the state's balance sheet? shouldn't that be under the private sector balance sheet?

Unless the state owns the resource, but then in that case why state have to pay for the resource when building ship? and why not private pay the state for building mining stations using the resources? (i know private pay the state for building ship but i understand that is not for the resource cost but the right to use of the shipyard, which is state owned).

Asked similar question on steam forum but no consensus or clear answers there, so hopefully getting some more insight here!

Not really affecting the gameplay as such but it does bug the hell out of me and dampens the immerision wihtout a full understanding of the economy system.
You're probably right from a narrative point of view, but I think having it this way around makes sense from a gameplay perspective. The private sector usually has plenty of cash, so giving it a small trickle of bonus income from resource trading wouldn't have any real noticeable impact on the game. Whereas having it go to the state is noticeable for the player, and because the player's often operating on a tight budget, it can make a big difference.

And I think the game operates at a level of sufficient abstraction that I'm happy just handwaving it away - there's probably some complex system of tarriffs and tax rebates that sorts it out somehow :?